“Knowing what to leave out is just as important as knowing what to focus on.”
-Warren Buffett
One fine day when I woke up, I started observing my day. Where actually I spend my total hours of the day. Just like everybody else, I checked my social media messages. I was worried for the people who did not reply my messages which I had sent yesterday. I checked my Instagram, how many reacted to the video clip I posted. Every after three to five minutes I used to check who is replying and who is not replying. I had some angry mood for those who unsubscribed my email list. When I was writing article, a phrase lead me to a picture of tree, then I searched for natural views. I started surfing for waterfall which might be useful for my video editing. Suddenly I realised that good keyword might be useful for more viewing and I started searching for good tool.
Attention Shifting
Later on after a good session from my mentor, I removed all notifications from my phone, I unsubscribed unwanted emails. I decided to be away from my smart phone when I am working on my priority jobs which I had decided on previous night and started raising every day with different purpose. Most of the messages and phone calls were just for nothing extra ordinary. I literally removed 80% of such contacts from my phone. I thought for a couple of days that I lost few people I this process but after few weeks I was more organised and shifted my valuable time for important tasks. I started spending hitherto wasted time on good podcast, speeches from great speakers and reading good books from kindle and paperback version.
Span Of Attention Around Us
Think about the distraction of your brain when you are involved in an important job. Every now and then your mind will wander to do other things. In fact it is not distraction but your brain has over stimulated and therefore we crave for distraction. When you are focus on your priority jobs, your brain will crave for dopamine release for the messages you have received from your connections from social media or the mail you are just going to receive from your friend from abroad. It is the same simulation you get like your delicious ice cream or hot burger. We are therefore mind is seeking some sort of teaser that arose dopamine. Between high and low stimulation there is one thing called ‘boredom’. If you are not familiar with this term, try out to read terms and condition of your phone bill.
Butterfly Ideas
I would like to draw your attention for a very interesting fact. You are totally focussed on your present job, you will never get good ideas or butterfly like nuggets but sometimes you taking a shower and idea strike to your mind which become mind blowing inspiration for your grand success in your interest area. It is therefore desired and let your mind wander. Generally plans are the outcome of ideas. But this beautiful ideas are the offspring of wandering mind. Is not that fascinating? Any moment of time you are thinking about past or future or you are in the present moment. Only few percentage of ideas are generated from past thoughts aggregating around 12%. But the handful of ideas are generated from your present moments aggregating around 28%. For instance, you are writing contents of your blog and missing a phase, meantime, you go to wash room and walking up and down for few seconds and suddenly required phase strikes in your mind. Because you are approaching from different directions and places. But to your surprise, brain wanders more than the past and future aggregating almost 48% of the time. Sometimes, you are planning your entire day’s activities in your toilet. So do not confine your mind just like the goat or cow you have tied with rope. Many great writers used to keep a small card or note pad with small pencil in their front pocket to jot down the ideas which struck in their mind when brain wandered.
Most of your wonderful ideas must have been generated when your are standing for a ticket at in counter or waiting in a long queue at luggage counter. Love these type of activities because those may make you more creative.
It is fact that we do so much, so many things in quantity and not allowing our brain to wander much and therefore restricting the ideas and plans. Kindly give the space to your brain. Think a real life situation, just like the way you are driving your car in a jam-packed traffic. You accelerate only for the space available between two cars. Our daily work and busy life is just like such traffic. Another thing, your distractions are not the enemy of our focus but it is not correct. It is psychological symptom of why we find difficult to focus.
Summary
For next 21 days, try out different schedule away from usual distractions and notifications of your phone and social media. Decide a time schedule to answer those messages or reply your important mails in a particular time. Think that you are out for the day for official meeting or a marriage function and could not reply messages or emails. Disconnect yourself completely for a particular time just like your diet schedule of few hours fasting. I have weekly disconnected such schedule with my family. Let your digital world shifted to your physical world at least once in a week. Let your brain wander and get wonderful ideas ultimately for better focus and meaningful life.
Take Away
1. Do not use your phone when you are walking from one room to another but let your brain wander. The brilliant valuable idea may be lost in the graveyard of your phone message or notification.
2. Rediscover your boredom and scatter focus and absorb in real physical world once in a while.
